The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert W. Meyer. Meyer was born in Olympia, Washington on 3 September 1924. After graduating from high school in 1942, he was drafted into the Army on 15 May 1943. He was placed into the Army Specialized Training Program. Following 13 weeks of basic training at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, he was sent to the University of Alabama for 3 months of specialized training. He was accepted for flight training, but returned to the infantry in April 1944. Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 263rd Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, he went overseas in September 1944. Reassigned as a machine gunner to Company A, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, Meyer saw combat in Belgium, Germany, and Luxemburg. He was captured by the Germans on 18 December 1944 while fighting near Longsdorf, Luxemburg. He spent the next 4 months in various prisoner of war and labor camps, including Stalag IIA north of Berlin. In April 1945, as the Russians approached Stalag IIA, the German guards fled. Essentially free, Meyer first tried to avoid the Russians but finally advanced with them to the Elbe River where he was reunited with US forces. …

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral history with Franklin Pomroy. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Pomroy, aged 17, joined the US Marine Corps. After completing boot camp he was sent to Camp Lejeune and assigned to H Company 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He presents a riveting narrative of combat conditions, death, destruction, jungle diseases and man’s inhumanity to man that he witnessed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu. His wartime experiences were concluded by returning to the United States aboard the USS Comfort (AH-6) followed by extended stays in naval hospitals for wounds received in battle.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lyall Dean. Dean was born in Westchester, New York on 19 October 1918. He attended Deerfield Academy prior to attending Union College until June 1941. Joining the US Marine Corps 2 February 1942 he attended boot camp at Parris Island. He went to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for additional training at which time he was assigned to the 1st Marine Division, H Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. He recalls boarding the USS George Elliott (AP-105) for a 21 day trip to Wellington, New Zealand. Upon their arrival the unit was put to work unloading the ship so it could be combat loaded for the landing on Guadalcanal. Upon landing on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 he was assigned to the headquarters company. While not directly involved in the 21 August 1942 battle of the Tenaru River he witnessed the sounds and sights of the battle. Several days later he was removed from the headquarters company and assigned to the 2nd platoon as one of the replacements for those lost in the battle. He tells of daily bombings and bombardment by Japanese ships. Dean recalls being relieved by …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stephen Boykin. Boykin joined the Marine Corps in August of 1940. In 1942, he was in the second wave entering the Guadalcanal Campaign, where he was severely wounded by a grenade. In early 1943, after being hospitalized, he was sent back to the US for one year of physical therapy. Boykin received a medical discharge in early 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Whitney Jacobs. Born in 1922, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1942. He was assigned to the First Division and sent to Wellington, New Zealand where they prepared to go to Guadalcanal. He mentions the dock workers strike. He describes his experiences as a machine gunner on Guadalcanal. He recounts his actions during the Battle of the Tenaru River for which he was awarded the Navy Cross. He shares an anecdote about the award ceremony in Australia. He also fought in the Battle of Cape Gloucester on the island of New Britain. He served in the Pacific for approximately two years and then transferred to assignments in the United States. He was discharged in October 1945. He used the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) to attend Harvard University.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leo Schmittgens. Schmittgens joined the Marine Corps in April of 1944. He completed training as an 81mm mortar man, and served with the 1st Marine Division. He traveled to Guadalcanal and Ulithi for additional training, and participated in the Battle of Okinawa. They remained on the island through the end of the war. He was discharged in April of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Arthur Pendleton. Pendleton joined the Marine Corps in 1940. In 1942, he deployed to Fiji and then New Guinea for additional combat training. They participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign. He provides vivid details of his time on Guadalcanal, including living, working and combat conditions. They also participated in the Battle of Cape Gloucester. He was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Young. Upon completion of boot camp, Young was assigned to H company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He landed on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. He describes the slow progress through the jungle, the shortages of water and of being bombed, strafed and shelled every day. He describes the battle of the Tenaru River and the high casualties inflicted upon the Japanese as they made numerous banzai charges. Young relates the experience of being subjected to bombardment by Japanese ships. The unit went to Melbourne, Australia, after being relieved, for replacements and refitting. His unit then landed on Cape Gloucester and Young tells of contending with dense jungles, wind and rain. After a brief time on Pavuvu, where he describes the nuisance created by land crabs and rats they landed on Peleliu. He recalls various anecdotes involving the battle including the confusion, the damage incurred by enemy artillery, and the high casualties suffered by the landing force.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Michael Silan. Silan joined the Marine Corps in February of 1943. He trained as an airplane mechanic, and provides details of his training, including the type of airplanes and engines he worked on. In December of 1943 he traveled to New Caledonia aboard the USS Mintaka (AK-94), and shares experiences of his travels. He was assigned to Marine Scout Dive Bomber Squadron 241 (VMSB-241), and served as a Marine plane captain. In the spring of 1944 they traveled to New Georgia Island, Efate, New Hebrides and Rendova Island. In January of 1945 they were assigned to the Philippines, where Silan operated planes amidst the battle as an artillery spotter. He shares experiences through several missions. Silan was honorably discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Theron MacKay. MacKay was born in Providence, Rhode Island 13 July 1924 and joined the Navy in June 1943. After completing boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Illinois, he was sent to Solomons, Maryland for amphibious training. He received four weeks of training in the duties of each member of a boat crew in various types of large landing craft and graduated as a qualified Coxswain. He then went aboard the USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) for more training. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67) and participated in the landing in North Africa on 8 November 1942. Upon returning to the US, MacKay reported aboard USS LST-342. After being outfitted with various guns, they departed in March 1943, along with twelve other LSTs, for the Solomon Islands. USS LST-342 was torpedoed by Japanese submarine Ro-106. The explosion blew the ship in half and only five of the 86-man crew survived. Over fifty of the soldiers on board were killed. MacKay was wounded and taken to a field hospital on Guadalcanal for emergency treatment and then to the Noumea, New Caledonia …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Mal Garcia. Garcia joined the Navy in 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. He was assigned to USS Argonne (AG-31) where he served as a radioman striker. During the attack on Pearl Harbor he assumed duty as coxswain of a whaleboat, transporting injured survivors to the dock. He also helped to rescue men trapped inside USS Oklahoma (BB-37). Garcia gives details of radio communication protocol, including codes and frequencies that were used. He was assigned to the radio station at Honolulu Bay when he received a battery of contact reports, which turned out to be the beginning of the Battle of Midway. He was then reassigned to USS Constant (AM-86) and conducted shore patrol in the Solomon Islands, the Russell Islands, and New Hebrides. The Constant also escorted 12 LCTs loaded with Marines to Bougainville. After a Japanese bomber damaged a radio tower on the Treasury Islands, Garcia sent the shore station’s messages out from his ship. At Kula Gulf the Constant had a close encounter with three Japanese destroyers. While escorting a ship to New Zealand, Garcia briefly communicated with a Japanese radioman masquerading as …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Lewis. Lewis joined the Navy in July 1939 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Breese (DM-18) where he worked in the engine room. He participated in neutrality patrols and survey trips along the Pacific coast. Ten days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, his ship reported sighting a Japanese submarine outside Pearl Harbor. During the attack, he saw the USS Utah (BB-31) roll over and watched as a destroyed midget submarine came to the surface. The Breese got underway and patrolled for seven days, short of crew, until returning to the harbor. At Midway he took on survivors from the USS Yorktown (CV-5). He describes the process of laying contact mines throughout the South Pacific. Lewis was surprised that the USS Tucker (DD-374) tragically entered one of their minefields. Lewis was transferred to the USS Latimer (APA-152) for the landings at Lingayen Gulf and Okinawa. After the war, he remained in the Navy, making the first landing at Inchon, aboard the USS Thuban (AKA-19). He retired from the Navy in 1962 and joined the Merchant Marines, bringing cargo …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Tucker. Tucker joined the Navy in January of 1945. Beginning in the spring, he served as Storekeeper Third-Class aboard USS Remey (DD-688). They went through a typhoon close to Okinawa and provided shore bombardment in Alaska. They were docked on the coast of Japan when the Japanese surrendered. Tucker recalls Japanese officials from the city of Ōminatoa surrendering aboard the destroyer, and signing a peace treaty. They returned to the US in October of 1945, and Tucker was discharged in mid-1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Andrew Pate. Pate joined the Army in February of 1945. He completed training with the Army Chaplain Corps. Pate served as a Stockade Chaplain at Fort Lewis in Washington, where he remained through August. From August of 1945 through the spring of 1946, Pate was assigned as Chaplain to Nichols Air Base in Manila, Philippines and Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Japan. He returned to the US and was discharged in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James D McLaughan, following another interview from 2001. McLaughan joined the Army Air Forces after completing three years of college at Cal Poly. He was stationed at Hamilton Field as a pilot with the 70th Fighter Squadron when the war broke out. He participated in the Yamamoto mission and notes that Rex Barber, who got the kill, always charged into a fight, and that Admiral Halsey sent two cases of fine whiskey to the squadron as a token of appreciation for their completing the mission. His squadron also discovered the airfield at Munda Point, which was hidden by palm trees, and attacked it daily until ground forces took over. McLaughan and his squadron developed the first firebombs by dropping thermite bombs housed within in gasoline-filled water bombs, which they dropped over Tokyo. He believes their technique was the inspiration for napalm.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Art Goethe. Goethe dropped out of high school after contracting tuberculosis. Upon recovery, he worked as a roofer at the Army barracks. In 1942, he enlisted in the Navy, with his parents’ permission. Despite his abbreviated education, he scored well on examinations and went on to radio school. He transferred in and out of many outfits as a radioman, working on a wooden sub-chaser, an LTA blimp, and an airship rescue unit before boarding the communications ship SC-1066. At Iwo Jima, while anchored off the beach to assist LCVP landings, he took note of communications about the tremendous death toll. After his discharge, Goethe returned home, earned his GED and then a Master’s in education, ultimately becoming a school teacher.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Virgil Lewis. Lewis joined the Navy in October 1943 and received basic training at Davisville. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Seabees and received further training at Port Hueneme. He landed on Guadalcanal in February 1943 and worked as a truck driver, transporting work crews to Henderson Field and Fighter Strip Number Two. He recounts one especially intense air raid and the heroic acts performed by fellow soldiers. After spending a month at Milne Bay and two months at Finschhafen, he arrived at the Admiralties just after the beach was reclaimed. He felt relatively safe there, despite the occasional sniper. Having served with the same group of men for over two years, he heartily celebrated V-J day with his friends. After helping with construction at Okinawa, Lewis returned home and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clay Reeves. Reeves joined the Marine Corps in September 1942. As he enlisted, he signed his full name for the first time in his life, and he remembers how he accidentally signed a document on the wrong line. After joining his platoon, his first duty included answering the phones while guarding cookies in an office. After reassignment to Camp Pendleton, Reeves joined an anti-tank battalion. He first traveled overseas in February 1943 to protect New Zealand from potential Japanese invasion. As a corporal, he was a half-track gunner until returning to Camp Pendleton to join the 5th Marine Division. There he made buck sergeant with a 37mm anti-tank gun crew. Reeves injured his arm but was so eager to help his country that he feigned good health to engage in combat on Iwo Jima. As acting platoon leader, he shot two enemy soldiers and took a bullet to a leg, walking five miles to return to base. When his medical records revealed his prior arm injury, he was sent home before the war ended and was discharged shortly thereafter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert C. Edgar. Edgar was born 30 March 1924 in Santa Ana, California. Upon entering the Army Air Forces in February 1943 he was sent to a college training detachment in La Grande, Oregon. After thirty days of pilot training he was sent to Santa Ana Air Base classification center for testing. Qualifying for bombardier training, he was sent to Kingman, Arizona to gunnery school. He also trained in Albuquerque as a bombardier. He graduated 18 March 1944 and received his bombardier wings and commission as a second lieutenant. Edgar then went to Fresno, California where his crew was assembled. They were then sent to Walla Walla, Washington for transition into B-24s. Upon completing their crew training they flew a new B-24 to Townsville, Australia. Leaving the plane, they were transported to Wakde, where they joined the 307th Bomb Group, 424th Bomb Squadron. His first combat mission over Balikpapan, Borneo lasted seventeen hours. Japanese fighters were encountered as well as heavy flak resulting in the loss of some planes. Edgar recalls one combat mission when Japanese aircraft flew above the B -24 formation and dropped phosphorus bombs and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Michael Natt. Natt joined the Army Air Corps in April of 1941. He served with the 95th Bomb Group as a waist gunner in a B-17. In August of 1944 on a bombing mission over Romania his plane was shot down and Natt was wounded. He was taken prisoner by German soldiers and survived an 8-month imprisonment in Stalag Luft III and a 90-day forced road march during the bitter cold winter. After being liberated, he was honorably discharged in October of 1945. Natt re-enlisted in the military in August of 1948 and completed a 30-year career with the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 1974.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Tom Schicher. Schicher joined the Marine Corps in March of 1944. He served as a rifleman and mortarman, and deployed to Hawaii as a replacement. They traveled to the Russell Islands and Guadalcanal practicing maneuvers. He participated in the Battle of Okinawa. After the war ended, he was assigned to occupation duty in China. Schicher returned to the US and was discharged around 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Franklin Dentz. Dentz joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1944. He completed training for radioman in an infantry company. He additionally learned Morse Code and the 32 bugle calls. In 1944 he traveled to England and was assigned to the 17th Airborne Division in the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment. Dentz provided radio communication for platoon radiomen. He provides some details of his training in England. He flew in a Horsa glider. Dentz comments on the German V2 rockets dropping in England. In 1945 his division participated in Operation VARSITY flying into Germany along the Rhine River, capturing Rhine bridges and securing towns. Dentz provides many details of their experiences through this operation, and life in general in England and Germany. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glenn Grote. Born 11 November 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri, Grote was drafted 4 January 1943 and sent to Miami Beach, Florida for basic training. Upon completing basic he went to radio school at Scott Field, Illinois and aerial gunnery training at Wendover, Utah. From there, Grote went to a base in Colorado where he joined a new B-24 crew. He recalls going to Langley Field, Virginia for advanced crew training. Upon completion of the training they flew the B-24 to Hethel, England where they joined the 389th Bomb Group, 567th Bomb Squadron. He flew thirty missions and describes his activities as a radio operator and gunner. Recalling 6 June 1944 he tells of bombing missions over the beaches of Normandy and of the sight of the invasion forces from the air. Grote returned to the United States in October 1944 aboard RMS Queen Mary. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire put on an impromptu show using tables in the mess hall area of the ship as a stage. After arriving in the U.S. he was sent to Romulus, Michigan to become part of a plane crew that ferried …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Eugene Morgan. Morgan joined the Navy in December of 1941. Beginning in January of 1942 he served as Boatswain’s Mate Second Class and Master of Arms, aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). They participated in the New Guinea and Aleutian Islands Campaigns. From late 1942 into early 1945 they bombarded for invasions of Kwajalein, Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In July of 1945 they successfully delivered atomic bomb components to Tinian. Morgan describes their fateful event of 30 July, when the Indianapolis was sunk, and his survival and rescue on 2 August. He was discharged in November of 1945.